You're Probably Not Invited to Mitt Romney's Summer Mixer

Mitt Romney is hosting a mixer in Park City, Utah this summer to unite "political, business and other thought leaders," according to the Chicago Tribune, but you probably aren't invited unless you're a future Republican contender for President or a deep-pocketed donor.

Mitt Romney is hosting a mixer in Park City, Utah this summer to unite "political, business and other thought leaders," according to the Chicago Tribune, but you probably aren't invited unless you're a future Republican contender for President or a deep-pocketed donor.

The Tribune got their hands on an invitation for Romney's big summer party, though they aren't necessarily on the guest list. It's being hosted by Solamere Capital, the private equity firm founded and run by Mitt's son Tagg Romney, where elder Romney now works and eats cupcakes.

To get on the guest list, you have to be someone important with a bright political future like New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, or Romney's former running mate Paul Ryan. As the Tribune explains, the party is an excuse for Christie and Ryan to shake hands with the kind of zillionaires that write checks for political campaigns:

An advantage for any potential 2016 candidates will be the other guests at the event. If, as expected, the upcoming event draws former Romney donors, it would offer the future contenders a chance to forge relationships with some of those who contributed to Romney’s powerful fundraising operation.

So, Romney's new role in the Republican party is being a money man, or at least the guy who knows the money men and women. He's a financier. Which makes enough sense considering he usually gets around with some of the most ridiculously, out of touch rich people in the world.

This summer retreat is drawing comparisons to a weekend getaway Romney organized for his campaign supporters last summer. That party earned rave reviews from attendees, and featured a very serious foreign policy speech from Condoleezza Rice and a comedy set from Karl Rove. Among the guests: Arizona Sen. John McCain, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, and Jeb Bush.

It was hosted in hotel along the Utah mountains, just like this year's party, a reference to the time he spent organizing the Winter olympics there. Romney's showmanship was the real takeaway of that weekend. At the end of one of Romney's speeches, he had Olympic skiers do backflips off ski jumps into the hotel pools to entertain his guests.

So that's what he has to top this year. Could we suggest Olympic skiers doing back flips off ski jumps through flaming hoops into hotel pools while carrying a pair of puppies each?

This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.

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Connor Simpson is a former staff writer for The Wire. His work has appeared in Business Insider and City Lab.